For the Crown
by kesleyjo
Summary: The murder of a prince leads Lady Elizabeth Cooper and Prince Jughead Jones to a irresistible adventure...as well as an irresistible attraction.
1. The Argument

**A/N: So friends. The inspiration to this story is a long one. Hit me up on tumblr kesleyjo to hear it. But I am SO excited to write this. Its going to be 30+ chapters and a hell of a journey. But I am hoping you all come with me.**

 **Things to know before you read.**  
 **1\. This is super AU. Even medieval AU, this is a bit fantasy. So just bear with me...I will tell you what you need to know.**  
 **2\. I am posting this before my outline is done to shameless generate some reviews/inspiration so hold tight until the next chapter is posted.**  
 **3\. This chapter is short. The rest will not be.**

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The sun had started to set on the River Kingdom and Lady Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper could not help but sigh at the unexpected length of the day's errands.

While the Cooper's duchy was more than capable of producing all the goods and wares it needed, it was expected that one member of the most well-respected family of the kingdom to show their face and spend some time with merchants of the kingdom.

This was one of the only errands of status that Betty truly enjoyed. The market was full of life and arguments, it was not proper or formal, and that's why Betty craved it so. Recently merchants and farmers from miles away have traveled to the royal market, which was nearly in the shadow of the castle itself. The population of the River Kingdom was becoming more centralized, which worried Betty in the abstract sense, but provided so much entertainment in the interim.

Today she witnessed a woman of middle age convince a man to give up his entire stock of Eastern chocolate for about three chickens. A spectacle of persuasion and wit. She saw a small girl charm a single apple from a notoriously stingy orchard owner with a single gap-toothed smile and a wink. A boy with large eyebrows and a permanent smirk that Betty was sure would charm ladies in the future, had bartered a somewhat lean crop of corn for an entire dairy cow.

Betty herself had payed full price for a large stock of parchment from the Blossom's Forest Kingdom, from a vendor that Cheryl herself had personally selected. The rest of her day was spent visiting the duchy's own merchants and vendors, providing her own "Lady Cooper" approval and in general being the individual of "high rank" at market. Given the increased volume of the market, Betty left at least a full hour's cycle after she had wished.

Betty had much preferred when Polly accompanied her on these visits, since she was far more versed in diplomacy and grace, but Polly had deferred unexpectedly when Betty asked her this morning. Polly had been acting strange going on several months now. She had taken on the lowest status job of going to the Riders of Letters every morning for their daily communication and stealing away for hours or even days on end when her parents were away at court. Which to Betty meant only one thing.

Polly was in love.

Betty herself was well versed in the secrecy of hiding a forbidden love, and was willing to indulge Polly her pleasures, as short sighted and doomed as they may be. Betty knew it was worth the pain, love was always worth the pain.

As if on a misfortunate cue, that is when Prince Archibald Andrews appeared in her vision, on the downslope of the hill she had begun descending. Her home was well in view and Betty had cursed herself for not leaving a half an hour sooner to avoid this unfortunate coincidence.

As soon as her saw her, he spurned his horse on to meet her at the acme of the hill. He immediately unmounted his horse as he saw her.

"Lady Elizabeth, well met!" He flashed his charming smile, which had long lost its luster with Betty.

"Your Royal Highness, good eve. You must be on the way to the castle, I dread delaying you and your guard." Betty kept her eyes ahead toward her home. As a cue for this conversation to terminate as quickly as possible.

"A delay worth making I would think," his guard had slowed their pace up the hill to give him time to talk to the beautiful Lady Elizabeth, and attraction they were all aware of.

"As flattered as I am your highness, I am already well delayed on my way home. Our prolonged greetings must wait for another day." There, that should be clearer to his royal orange head.

He gave her a regretful but not defeated glance, as he grabbed her hand unexpectedly and gave it a firm and rather uncourtly long kiss, "Then until we meet again Lady Elizabeth," and then lower and conspiratorially, "Betty."

He mounted his horse as his guard neared and sped toward the castle. Betty felt like burning her own hand. As it was the old habit of clenching her fist had unknowingly resurfaced. She unclenched and chastised herself before she could cause permanent scars.

She let out a long sigh and stopped in her path just for a moment. And for that fleeting moment, she let herself imagine his face. The face that Prince Archibald had exiled from their kingdom. Not wanting to merge his beautiful face with her hatred of her future king she banished all thoughts from her mind.

She consulted her time piece, a rare luxury, and noticed she was hours behind when she should have been home. As she rushed her way through the manor's walkway and through their door, her worry of chastisement gave way to confusion as raised voices met her ears.

"What future could you possibly envision, Polly?!" Her fathers voice loomed over their main living area.

"My future! My happiness! Why can't you see that?!" Polly retorted back. Betty listened for several more minutes to an increasingly confusing conversation, until a hand tapped her on her shoulder startling her and causing her to spin away from the heated conversation.

Betty came face to face with her mother who promptly put her index finger to her lips and drew Betty into an embrace.

"You were late love," her mother whispered to her, ushering her away from the argument and towards the staircase toward living quarters.

"What's…" before Betty could finish her mother moved her toward the stairs.

"I'll tell you in the morning go to bed Betty, the night is already well progressed."

Her mother embraced her, and Betty out of fight, ascended the stairs towards her bedroom, where the conversation was still heard by volume, though Betty could no longer make out the words.

Betty could not help but regret hearing the rest of argument. If for nothing else but a break from the monotony. She knew that she should be grateful for her comfortable existence, but Betty yearned for adventure, action, and a love rekindled. She let her imagination ponder such things as she fell asleep, and the dusk dwindled to darkness.

It was still darkness when Betty was roused from slumber. It was not gentle, and as she slowly regained awareness she became acutely aware of screaming. Betty ripped the sheets off her body, and banning propriety rushed down the stairs in her shift.

Her house was on fire.

Not the entire house but at least the rooms below her sister's chambers and their main living quarters which just hours earlier housed a heated conversation that matched its present status.

Betty stood frozen until one of the manor's service workers grabbed her by the shoulders and moved her towards the front door. "Lady Elizabeth, you must go outside while we put out the fire!"

Betty had lost all recollection of time and space as she was ushered out to the front courtyard of the manor.

Betty would argue that the sight that awaited her here was far more terrifying than any fire raging in her home. Her father and mother were crouched over two figures.

Her sister was screaming, and as Betty scanned her body, she noticed she was bleeding, her entire dress coated in blood.

But even in that horrifying realization was nothing to the body towards which Polly's scream were currently directed.

She recognized him immediately but could not comprehend how he could appear in their courtyard yet alone in the River Kingdom.

It was Prince Jason Blossom, from the Forest Kingdom, laying prone and lifeless in their yard.

As Betty tried to comprehend any series of events that would lead Prince Jason to their home let alone to their current state, his already faint rise and fall to his chest had ceased.

As Polly shrieked, Betty then lost all consciousness.

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 **A/N:GUYS come with me on this journey. Feel free to hit me up on tumblr or send me a message here.**

 **This chapter is more of a prologue but there is important stuff in here. Don't worry Jughead is in the next chapter.**

 **Stay tuned loves!**


	2. The Arrival

**A/N:** **THANK YOU to everyone who commented on the (very short) teaser to this fic. It really is a lot easier and more exciting to write when I know people are as excited as I am. #Funfact this is the longest chapter I have ever written and it was intended to be one of my shortest. Personal accomplishment. Yay. #Funfact2 I edited this myself. Be merciful.**

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Elizabeth Cooper was certain that if one of her maids were to enter her rooms at this moment, the rumour that she was unhinged would permeate the castle before the evening meal.

Fifteen full days had passed since Jason's Blossom soul had left this earth on the flagged steps of the Cooper manor's walkway, and the agent of his demise was still unknown. Constable Keller questioned the Blossoms, the Coopers, and the entire Cooper estate, whether they were present anywhere near the manor, or seven acres away. Betty was half certain he would start asking questions of the more intelligent looking pigs soon. Because there were no leads, and no suspects. The ineptitude of the law was beginning to inspire paranoia and mistrust in the people of the River Kingdom. Betty, however did not bend to paranoia, she overcame it. Her current coping mechanism was all the evidence she could amass surrounding Jason's death and it was currently papered across the stones of her chamber.

It arched around her in a semi-circle, like a strange macabre rainbow. On her far left, letters, from Jason to Polly. Betty presumed that there were mirrored letters at Thornhill Castle, but Cheryl had yet to unearth them. Betty only read through them once, it felt too intimate to parse them for any further details. There was not a lot of evidence to be gained from them anyway, other to confirm what Betty had already suspected. Polly and Jason were in love, obviously, and the letters dated back about seven months, around two summits ago. What struck Betty as odd was that they kept it such a secret. It really would have been an ideal match. The Coopers were wealthy and from a neighboring ally kingdom, they were, as her mother was fond of reminding them, prime wives for future kings.

Something Betty did not want to be reminded of.

Next to the fanned out letters were the communications Betty had with Cheryl pertaining to the events before the incident. They too, were rather thin on evidence, but primarily because Betty did not want to push her friend during such a sensitive time. The most important points that Cheryl offered were that, no she did not know of her twin's love for Polly, and as far as she was aware, her parents were also oblivious.

This particular pile of letters frustrated Betty the most, as she believed the secret lived in Thornhill. The castle itself practically whispered as one neared it, but to investigate it's mysteries was to invite it's horrors. She glanced at another piece of parchment with Betty's notes tying key facts from the letters together, but they had yet to reveal any substantial truth. Since she could not stare the evidence out of the letters, she moved on to the chronicle of the day itself. It starts fairly paltry, with only the barest details she could gain from her parents and Polly.

Polly was happily ensconced in bed an hour after sunrise, with no signs of embarking on any type of adventure in the near or even distant future. According to her parents she didn't leave her room until an hour before Betty returned home. At which point her father caught Polly with several of her belongings, attempting to flee. It was at this point that her sister and father began their spat.

She had written, as best as she could remember, the conversation that she had overheard between the two:

 _Father: What future could you possibly envision, Polly?!_

 _Polly: My future?! My happiness! Why can you not see that?!_

 _Father: This is misguided at best Polly, we fully consent to the match, why are you fleeing, think of your reputation, how will you support one another, what land will you live on?_

 _(Polly stops for about 4 full breaths)_

 _Polly: I understand it makes no sense but this is the only way, I will explain in a letter when we are safe…_

 _Father: Bloody hell you will! I am locking you in your room...if he comes to fetch you I will lock him in the cellar…_

It was at that point that her mother interrupted the conversation and Betty was ushered up to their living quarters. Betty remembered nothing more from the conversation, and her next waking moments found her at the front steps of a burning house witnessing Jason Blossom's last breaths.

Some of the staff of the household offered a wealth of information, but Betty focused on what she believed to be the most useful witness accounts from three of their workers. She too, had summarized their statements and tried to organize them in chronological order.

First from the night kitchen maid, Ethel Muggs, who was outside fetching water from the well, when she saw a figure with bright hair climb the trellis outside of Polly's room. Alarmed, she went to find the estate supervisor Pop Tate, in the gatehouse a few yards away. Several minutes later as she and Pop Tate started back towards the manor she saw two more figures climb the trellis to Polly's room. Pop Tate told her to ride as fast as she could to the palace to get the constable.

Pop Tate went to wake the Duke and Duchess first, with her father rushing with Pop Tate to Polly's bedroom, from where they both heard a scream. Betty had documented the stories of both Pop Tate and her father but they were nearly identical. They entered the chamber to find Polly wounded and bleeding on the floor with Jason unconscious with his sword by his side. Two figures fled from the window, purposefully knocking over the lantern that Polly had set out for Jason and dropping a newly made torch onto the floor setting her window hangings ablaze.

Dilton Doily also testified that he saw two figures leave through the window while throwing another torch into a window on the main floor, intensifying the fire. They then fled towards the back gate, seeming unwounded.

While these statements were important, it was the aftermath that Betty believed held the most interesting details. Polly had been stabbed once, though more effort had been made by the two assassins, according to Polly. Jason also had taken only one blow, but it hit too vital of an organ for him to recover. Jason had been given a key to the back gate of the estate by Polly, which means the assassins had waited for Jason to depart for the Cooper manor. It meant they had followed him with intent.

The main conclusion of all of this of course, was that the intent was to kill _both_ Polly and Jason, a motive Betty was positive the Constable was overlooking.

With that Betty reached the end of her murder arc, with just the letters from Cheryl hypothesizing what had happened after the murder and attempted murder sitting to the far right of Betty. Betty sighed and had to brush away her tears so that they would not fall upon her carefully curated documentation. This had become an obsession for her, and like most obsessions, it was rooted in something more difficult to confront. Betty had not seen or talked to her family since they day after the fire. The entire Cooper family was scattered across the River Kingdom like playing pieces thrown in frustration after a game goes the wrong way.

Her father remained at the manor overseeing the renovations of their home. The manor defiantly remained standing in the wake of the arson, with over half the house untouched by the blaze. Her father, always unable or unwilling to show any vulnerable emotion towards his family, chose to leave his family to heal without them and unfeelingly return their home to its former glory.

Polly had been spirited away to a healing house about mid-distant from the estate and the castle immediately after Jason died. Betty had spent the following day going to and from Polly's bedside, hearing bits of her story, which Betty had diligently documented. Polly's doctors kept her stable and alert, since her wound was incredibly shallow (seemingly impossible to Betty given all the blood), allowing Polly to air her hysterics freely and uninterrupted. Hindering this wealth of information was their mother, who kept sending Betty on errands leaving the information she heard incomplete, and questionably reliable at best.

But that too was a mystery unsolved. The next day Betty was panicked to find Polly's nursebed empty, only for the panic to be replaced with confused rage by the reception of a letter from her mother informing her that she had taken Polly to a convent for recovery, a convent banned from unapproved visitors, and would return once the manor was completely renovated.

The news of the event and the status of her sister had of course reached court, and no sooner had Betty returned home from the healing house when Prince Archibald Andrews swept in offering shelter for Betty while her mother was away and their home was uninhabitable. Her father, the traitor, accepted the offer on Betty's behalf, and was given only an hour to pack a suitable amount of belongings. Betty had spent a quarter of the hour shoving the half of her closet that did not reek of bonfire into an over-large bag. Another quarter of an hour piling her underthings and personal trinkets on top of said non-odorous clothing. And the other half of the hour taking as many books from the (miraculously) untouched library and packing them neatly and orderly into an even larger sack.

She made Archibald carry that one particular burden back to the castle. The fool hadn't even brought a horse.

Betty's cruel (and heavy) trick did not hinder Archibald's enthusiasm on showing Betty to her living quarters for the foreseeable future.

Betty took time now to look around her ridiculously extravagant chambers. It had to have been one of the largest of guest quarters in the entire castle, located as it was in it's own spire overlooking the courtyard and garden on one side, and the grand castle entrance on the other. The chambers consisted of four rooms: two bed chambers (one remained empty, but meticulously cleaned daily by the castle staff), a small washroom, and the sitting room which joined the other three.

It was here that Betty had spent the majority of the previous fourteen days, wearing out the letters and scribbled notes of evidence, trying to coax a clue or lead out of any of them. Unpacking and repacking them in between visits from the service maids.

As if on cue, the church chimed three low, bellowing afternoon bells, signaling the arrival of said maids within the next hour. Usually around this time Betty carefully piled her bits of parchment, stashed them in a lockbox below her bed, and went on a walk in the gardens. The beauty of the roses and tranquility of the finely trimmed trees helped to prepare herself for being ogled by Archie during the evening meal, followed by being ogled by Archie during the evening parlor game, ending with the evening nightcap, and yes, more ogling.

There would be another murder, much easier for Constable Keller to solve, if the monotony remained uninterrupted.

Today however, presented a reprieve. King Frederick Andrews had declared an assembly before the evening's meal, demanding that all members of the castle staff, and any courtiers near enough to travel be present. Since that did not give quite enough time for the walk that Betty yearned for, she sought another diversion. She skimmed off Cheryl's most recent letter from the top of her pile, before safely securing the rest underneath her bed.

Betty filled a goblet with water from the filled-this-morning basin and took up residence in the window overlooking the castle entrance and re-read the day old letter from her oldest friend.

When Betty had first met Cheryl they were five, and Betty had genuinely believed that Cheryl might be possessed by an evil spirit. The royal families came to the River Kingdom, the most centrally located of the Allied Kingdoms, three times during the calendar year to discuss grievances and to vote on allied matters. The monarchs always brought their heirs, even in their childhood, so that the ways of the land could sew themselves into the fabric of their personalities. Cheryl being born five minutes too late, was superfluous, and was relegated to the Coopers for every visit. These visits came with thinly veiled hostility and broken or stolen toys from one or both parties. It wasn't until they were nine that Cheryl let Betty get a glimpse of her humanity.

Betty had an argument with her father. She had been late coming into dinner, because she had not yet finished harvesting the apple crop. The trees were drooping with ripe and profitable bounty, even one more hour with a windstorm coming from the east would have robbed them of at least a dozen barrels. Thinking her father would praise her, Betty bounded up to Hal Cooper, a blinding smile illuminating their dining room. Instead her father was furious that she had missed the arrival and departure of the Blossoms. He had sent her to her room without supper, and without any consideration for the fortune she alone had saved them. She didn't even understand why she needed to be there for the Blossoms anyway, it's not like she was the Cooper's heir. Polly was always there to bow and smile with far more grace than Betty ever could.

As she sat upstairs she furled and unfurled her fists, every unclench revealing deeper crevices in her palms, until eventually blood started to form drops where her nails had worn away the skin. At some point Cheryl had appeared in her doorway. She was dressed in her night shift, signifying that Betty had been sitting this way for hours.

Cheryl walked up the bed, and started speaking, not even looking at Betty. "Sometimes my father takes me out into the castle town to visit street vendors, visiting courtiers and especially landowners. I am very beautiful." Cheryl did not say it vainly, just stated it as if it were a fact. As Betty stared at her flowing fire-hair and full lips she knew her statement was irrefutable. "They say I have almost a woman's body. That I will be quite the ripe fruit when I am matured." Betty wasn't sure exactly what that meant yet, but it still caused gooseflesh to prick down her arms.

"Father says I put them in a good mood. That it helps for collecting taxes, and encouraging investments in the kingdom. Thanks me for being such an obedient little girl." Betty remembers the exact moment Cheryl turned to look at her, tears welling up in her round brown eyes. "After we get home, some evenings I stare at my meal. If those days are in a row, I can feel and see my body alter, become less...desirable. And I feel in control again"

It was then that Cheryl took both of Betty's fists and unfurled them so that they were flat, palms both facing upwards, baring her wounds to them both. Cheryl laid her palms gently on top of Betty's, as if they were about to start one of those children's clapping games.

"We should not have to feel this way."

After that Betty and Cheryl saw each other several times a month, even if just to meet for a few hours in a the town halfway between the Cooper Manor and Thornhill Castle. At thirteen, Betty enabled and encouraged the start of the beautiful romance between Cheryl and the girl who would become the love of her life. At fifteen, Betty stayed at Thornhill for a whole week to help Cheryl learn the manners of the Eastern Kingdom of Zamahna so as not cause a diplomatic incident. At seventeen, when Betty's love had been banished from the kingdom by Prince Archibald, Cheryl had held Betty while she wept, and then snuck out to the castle stables to liberate Prince Archibald's favorite horse.

Betty smuggled them sustenance from the kitchen food stores when Cheryl couldn't swallow a bite in front of her father, and Cheryl always held Betty's hand after she had fought with her own paternal guardian.

With a loud clang, Betty was startled out of her reverie as a tapestry fell from the wall the maid was currently dusting. She had not even seen or heard Midge enter her room. Unsurprising really, she was a slip of a girl, so tiny that her brown dress sagged at her arms and waist and dragged on the floor hiding her equally tiny feet. She was quiet, and as Betty had found, sometimes unleashed a surprising sense of humour. That humour was nowhere to be found at the moment.

"Many apologies Lady Elizabeth, I had not meant to stir you," Midge was nervous today, no doubt about the upcoming assembly. Historically they did not bear good news.

"All is well Miss Klump, I am sorry I am inhospitable at the moment," Betty flashed her a smile that Midge timidly returned. They both knew it was more unusual for Betty to acknowledge Midge's presence than to ignore it, but that had never been Betty's way. Although they were untitled, Betty found that those who worked honest jobs day in and day out were often the people most worth knowing.

"I hope you get out to see the garden today, the white roses are blooming and are quite beautiful," Midge declared, with conspiratorial grin on her face. The normal conversation seemed to have settled her nerves a bit, and she went into the empty chamber to clean the non-existent mess.

Betty shifted to return to her letter when she noticed a cavalcade nearing the castle entrance. The assembly was nearing, so she assumed it was a nearby nobleperson.

There was no carriage, and not all of the party were atop their horses. She noticed about ten in all, all outfitted completely in black. Betty squinted her eyes to get a better look when their identifying flag caught the wind revealing an emerald snake against a black background.

The Serpents.

Betty immediately shifted closer to the window to see if she could spot her beautifully fearsome friend, but no one matched her distinctive description. It actually made Betty sigh happily. Toni would have never turned down an assignment to go to the River Kingdom, which meant she took a detour to visit Cheryl first. The relief eased some of the exhaustion from the last few days, making room for her curiosity to take its place.

The curiosity was not for their presence, in fact she was surprised they hadn't shown up much earlier. The Serpents had the most well organized and respected army of any of the established kingdoms of this world, and it was not uncommon for kingdoms that could afford the service, to employ the Serpents for extra protection in time of need. A time that was most certainly upon the River Kingdom.

No, Betty's curiosity was for the elusive Serpent Prince. She had seen Forsythe Pendleton Jones III a dozen or so times in their childhood when he come to the River Kingdom for the allied summits. The last time she, or anyone in the northern Allied kingdoms had seen Jughead Jones (what a nickname) was when he was eighteen, enjoying his last Allied Summit before he went off study abroad in a Western Kingdom. He had been a lean piece of muscle then. Betty remembered thinking he didn't have enough fat on his body to keep himself warm in the winter; she was concerned.

She was always confused by his shyness, she had tried to talk to him, especially when they were younger and she was still enjoying a friendly relationship with Archibald...well still Archie, then. She asked about his sister, his kingdom, his favorite color, anything really, but he gave one word responses if he gave a response at all. He seemed scared of her, of girls in general. That did not get any better when she became friends with Cheryl. Cheryl never did like snakes.

But that was years ago, and the gossip mill had revealed Jughead had been back in the Serpent kingdom for close to half a year now, and still he was unwed. He was the eldest of the heirs to Allied Kingdoms at two and twenty years of age. Archibald was a year behind him, and determined on marrying in the next year, a thought that made Betty want to flee to the farthest corner of an Island Kingdom never to be seen again. Jason and Cheryl, like Betty aged nineteen. ("Jason was nineteen" Betty mentally corrected herself). Age of marriage for royals was young, usually not passing nineteen, in the interest of producing heirs and ensuring the security of a kingdom. Betty was grateful for being a second child of a duke, she could afford to wait until the mid or late years of her third decade before she was expected to be wed.

Needless to say she wanted to get a look at the string-bean boy and see if she could discern a noticeable reason for his bachelorhood.

Fred (as he insisted Betty call him) and his son opened the gates and stepped out to greet their nearing guests. They were both dressed in River Kingdom colors, deep blue and gold. With a sigh, Betty looked at her own dress, a shade almost identical to Archibald's jacket. How deeply unfortunate.

Betty still could not see Jughead, deducing that he was dwarfed behind the unnaturally tall and good looking man blocking her view. The cavalcade stopped, and she could see that a figure was unmounting behind mountain-man. Forsythe Pendleton Jones III stepped forward now in full unhindered view to greet the River Kingdom royals.

Betty choked on the water she had foolishly sipped from her goblet.

To say the years had been kind to the Serpent Prince would barely serve the sentiment justice. He had grown taller, if possible, only an inch or two shorter than the human tree, who was also now unmounting his horse to stand behind his future king. Even from this distance she could see that while he had finally put meat on his bones, he had retained his leanness. Like one of those jungle cats she's heard about in the Eastern Kingdoms.

What fascinated Betty most was his dark black hair, not overly long, but deeply unruly, barely kept in place by his silver crown, the color unusual and even more noticeable on his dark head. Frustratingly she could not get a good look at his face, and she found that it bothered her that she could not complete this picture of him in her mind.

If she was going to get a look at that face anyway, it might also be nice to get a view of this altered figure from a closer perspective. Simply to make sure that her assessment from this distance was accurate. For research reasons only, of course.

Seeing that Midge had quietly escaped from the room, Betty deposited Cheryl's letter back in her lock box and rushed down to the main hall where the Serpents would be entering.

Perhaps this assembly would bring exciting news after all.

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Even after four years, Archie Andrews still looked like a human puppy. Not the starved mutts that used to roam the streets of castle township, but one for the pampered pets of the elites of the Western Kingdom kept indoors plump and full of adoration of their owners.

Archie bounded forward and slipped a look of faux seriousness on his face with his hand outstretched. He hardened his face a bit more as he said in his best imitation of his father, "We are pleased to receive you Prince Forsythe Jones III."

Jughead dampened his own smirk to mirror Archie's face as best as possible, "Pleased to find your castle still standing Prince Archibald Andrews."

They kept their stoic looks affixed to their faces for several more seconds until Archie broke, followed closely by the laughter of Jughead as they embraced like brothers. Fred came up to great him warmly and made his excuses to exit in order to prepare for the upcoming announcement. Jughead still could not decipher from his mood what exactly that announcement would be.

"Four years, Jones, I was starting to think you might abandon your post as heir. Find someone in the Western Kingdoms to stay for?" Archie waggled his brows towards Jughead, recapturing Jughead's attention and effortlessly falling back into the easy rhythm with his friend.

"Nothing to keep me away from duty and country," Jughead replied, purposefully being coy. Though he knew Archie meant no harm with his comment, he was profoundly aware of the rumours surrounding his - in their country's mind - prolonged stay in the Western Kingdoms. The most popular of rumours was that he had seduced one of the beautiful daughters of the Baron von Brodin of the Western Kingdom of Douna. [Sidebar: Jughead always found the names of the Western Kingdoms to be so odd (irony not lost). The Eastern and Allied Kingdoms, the oldest in the world, were named simply, based on geography or climate, while the Western Kingdoms, new and full of self important pride were named after their founders and rulers. End Sidebar] While very beautiful, the daughters were not alluring in the slightest to Jughead, and absolutely not enough to keep him tethered to Western land.

In reality, Jughead had spent a year longer than originally planned in Getna Kingdom attempting to aid all Western kingdoms in the war and unrest permanently present in their lands. The Western Kingdoms were made of seven established kingdoms, all with different allies and enemies. The rest of the Western lands were a lavish free for all. Money and corruption abounded for those ruthless enough to seize it, and over the last year, one of the more corrupt free states was overtaken by another, inspiring chaos and unrest in the neighboring established kingdom of Ravendor. Witnessing the system had been a culture shock, but a great learning trial to bring back to his own sorely missed kingdom.

Bringing himself back into the present with his best and oldest friend, he asked Archie where he would like his men and women stationed. Archie signalled to stable boy and footman to bring the Serpents to the stables to rest their horses and then to lead the men and women to their assigned living quarters. As soon as that was completed they were to be escorted back to the main hall for the mystery announcement Fred had planned. Jughead relayed the orders to Sweet Pea, who signalled the rest of the crew to follow the stable boy through the gate and toward the castle stables. Archie gave an impressed nod to Jughead's easy command of his small force.

"I apologize Jug, propriety dictates that you stay in the visiting royal quarters." Another footman had already embarked to deposit his belongings in the far more lavish guest quarters in the western wing of the castle. While he did not enjoy being so far separated from his fellow Serpents, it would allow him some dearly desired peace and reprieve in the evenings for Jughead to ponder and investigate the dark goings on of the River Kingdom.

"I understand Archie, but while we have some time, care to direct me to the quarters of Constable Keller? I want to be brought to present surrounding all knowledge regarding Jason's murder." It still felt foreign for Jughead to say out loud. While Jughead had always gravitated to Archie, he had known Jason his whole life, and had no ill word to say against him. It was a tragedy that a soul so kind was ripped from the earth so cruelly. Particularly since that meant he would be replaced by his demonic sister in Allied Summits. Jughead shuddered.

Mistaking his shiver Archie replied, "I know it's strange, Jug, it was the three of us for so long." He paused before returning to Jughead's original request, "As for Keller, he seems to have forgotten how to solve any sort of crime…" Archie then launched into the details of the case, surprising Jughead. Why, for God's only sake, was Archie so invested and well versed on this particular murder? "...and of course you should ask Be-Lady Elizabeth, she is staying in the quarters on the Western Spire…" Archie's entire face melted into a smile, and he nodded almost imperceptibly to a figure approaching behind Jughead. Jughead turned, although based on Archie's expression he was already well aware who he would see.

It still did not prepare him.

Lady Elizabeth Cooper had been a still growing girl of fifteen with an innocent inviting smile and a personality that bathed everyone in comfort and kindness the last time Jughead had seen her.

Now. Now she made his mouth go dry. Her curves had wrapped dangerously around her body, making her appear anything but innocent. Her hair grew long and fell down her back in a pristine braid Jughead and the sudden urge to unravel. Her inviting smile was still present on her beautiful face, but now it hid the outline of a smirk, as if she were keeping a secret. That comforting glow was still there though, and Jughead waited for that comfort to calm his raging hormones.

"Lady Elizabeth! I am not sure you remember…"

"...Prince Forsythe Pendleton Jones III. Still daring to set yourself apart with your silver crown." Her smile widened, as did her secret smirk.

"Well met Lady Elizabeth. Though I beg of you, please call me Jughead." He responded to her curtsy with a slight bow. "I was just hoping to find you." Jughead did not want to think he imagined the lightness in her eyes.

Jughead had meant to say something kind and reassuring but his nerves, usually so under control, briefly ran away from him and instead he said, "It seems you know more than Constable Keller about the murder of Jason Blossom," realizing that came out with a bluntness he had not intended, he tried to smooth his blunder by adding, "Since you witnessed his actual death." Nope, still absolutely not helping.

He opened his mouth to insert his foot further into it if possible, when he noticed a look of shock and surprise flash across Elizabeth's face before she hardened her features into a practiced mask of false uninterest. So she _was_ keeping information to herself, hiding something under that beautiful exterior.

Jughead was going to press further when Archie sensed the tension and tried to smooth things between his love and his friend, "I know Betty is doing everything in her power to find the parties responsible for this treacherous crime," Archie soothed, spreading his arms wide as if to sweep them both into a hug. Jughead, intrigued by his informality with _Betty_ , but annoyed by his intrusion, rolled his eyes towards Elizabeth expecting to see a mirrored lovesick expression on her face. It was his turn to hide his shock and surprise.

All the light and warmth had been drained from Elizabeth's face, she was still beautiful, but like a porcelain doll instead of a ray of sunshine. She plastered a terse grin on her face as she spoke, "Thank you Prince Archibald, now if you will excuse me, it's seems courtiers are starting to arrive for the assembly." Leaving no time for rebuttal, she slipped away into the growing crowd of nobles entering the castle.

This was a wealth of information for Jughead to process in a short amount of time. Since Archie was seven, he was resolute in his devotion for Elizabeth Cooper, convinced that she would one day rule by his side. Jughead saw no reason why his dream would not come to fruition. Archie and Elizabeth were best friends and confidants since childhood. And while Elizabeth did not seem to reciprocate his complete adoration, she was the kind and gracious partner to Archie's giving and open demeanor. They could not make any more sense as a fated pair, so much so, Jughead was stunned that they had not yet been married.

The look on Elizabeth's face told a different, albeit much more intriguing story. He didn't know if it was cataclysmic event or a slow deterioration, but Lady Elizabeth's once good opinion of Prince Archibald Andrews had been irrevocably altered. And Jughead had another mystery to add to his obsessions.

"Ah, Jug, I think you made her feel uncomfortable enough to leave," Jughead needed to suppress a chuckle, _he_ was not the one she was fleeing from. Archie had stared moonily after her, completely oblivious to her obvious dislike of him (of them both, if Jughead was honest with himself).

"For the best anyway Arch, come, let us see what your father has to say. Surely it will be a reveal to get the Kingdom gossiping." They took places in the throne room on either side of King Andrews, effectively terminating their conversation. The assemblies were few and far between, but procedure was embedded in both of them. Any royals present were to stand alongside the King, visually providing a display of support and unspoken agreement.

Jughead searched the assembled crowd for Lady Elizabeth, finding her amidst the a group of courtiers, one of whom he recognized as the handsome but obnoxious Baron Reginald Mantle. He seemed to be demanding Elizabeth's attention. Her eyes briefly met his and he could sense the annoyance for him even from this distance, as she turned and made a show of pretending to be interested in the Baron's ramblings.

What a fascinating human.

She did not have to pretend long, King Frederick Andrews stood, and without saying a word hushed the throne room before him. "Many gracious thanks for those who have traveled to hear this announcement, I am sure our Riders appreciate the reprieve." A small nervous chuckled waved faintly across the room.

"Today, is a day of great tidings in a time of unease and uncertainty. We shall stand and support our allies, as they grieve from this terrible tragedy." He stopped for a bit before changing the mood of the speech to something more uplifting. "When reminded of the fragility of life, we could all use a reminder of the good that this world has to bring us, and the good fortune a new beginning can allow. It is my great pride to announce such a beginning for my son, whose upcoming marriage will bring promise and new life to our Kingdom." Whispers started to fly across the throne room.

Jughead's eyes snapped immediately to Lady Elizabeth who stood still still as statue, save for rapid rise and fall of her chest. As his eyes scanned quickly to Archie however, all Jughead could discern was that his brows were having a difficult time hiding their confusion.

"In three weeks time, my son will be wed to Miss Veronica Lodge, daughter of Sir Hiram Lodge of the Western free states, forging an alliance between the Allied Kingdoms and our rapidly growing and prosperous neighbors." The increased volume of the whispers in the room marked the distinct shock this announcement represented. No one had even seen a Western banner in the Kingdom for months, and for the King to agree to a marriage to an untitled foreign family meant that the dowry had to be nothing short of extravagant. That brought relief and excitement to the faces of the more financially pressed noble men and women. There were also sneers of skepticism, and people were looking about to gage the mood of the announcement from their surrounding friends and foes.

Jughead however could only watch the blonde woman who had quickly become his favorite puzzle. It was if she were a star that had burst, her smile was wide and genuine. There was a tension held in her entire body that Jughead had not noticed before but now melted along her muscles. The relief she felt apparent in the life that was reignited in her eyes.

"The entire kingdom is encouraged to welcome Miss Lodge to our Kingdom two day hence. Furthermore announcements regarding the Feast of Promise and the arrangements for the nuptials are to be dispersed by the Riders as required. Long live the River Kingdom!"

"Long live the King!" came the practiced reply, immediately followed by mild bedlam as the gathered people gossipped with friends and neighbors on their way back to their daily lives.

Jughead moved to congratulate Archie, but was stopped by the look of furious surprise on his face. Given how he had gazed longingly at a woman who was not his future bride only minutes ago, it was safe for Jughead to assume his father had not updated him on the news before announcing it to the whole kingdom. Archie grabbed his father and the retired to an anteroom of the rapidly emptying throne room.

Jughead took the opportunity of finally being alone to slip away to his quarters. The announcement had only taken several minutes, and that meant he had a full hour before he was required to descend to the dining hall for the evening meal. A meal where he could study the ramifications of this marriage proposal on his oldest friend and the former object of his fascination.

Jughead knew that his presence here was due to a murder, so boredom was not a state that he expected, but if the first half of an hour of this time here had any bearing on the rest of his stay...it was sure to be lively.

* * *

Archie tried not to put too much pressure on his father's arm, but the rage he was currently feeling made regulating his strength a trial.

Archie unleashed his father, and almost whispered, "I am hoping that you have some understandable explanation for the manner in which you chose to tell me that I was getting married, father." He tried to keep voice even and as detached as possible, but the quaver in his voice betrayed him.

Fred looked older than his years as he sighed towards Archie, "I am sorry you had to hear the news this way, but the agreement was not finalized until this morning. And as Miss Lodge has already embarked on her journey, there was no time to have this argument before I made the announcement. This is the best marriage alliance any kingdom could hope for, Archie," Fred tried to reach out to his son but Archie dodged his touch.

"It's the Western Kingdoms father! Not even a kingdom but a free state. This is a poor diplomatic alliance, which means this is purely for financial gain. When did we become greedy money mongers?"

"Perhaps that is a question you should level with your friend Jughead," Fred said with more bitterness than Archie had ever heard from his father.

"Is there something you are keeping from me?" Archie said it so softly, he felt as if time had to slow in the room.

"Our kingdom is nearing financial ruin, Archibald. We have had to close half of our schools and healing houses, and many of our landowners are struggling to keep staff at the estates," Fred said all of this with his eyes focused on the floor, as if he was ashamed that he had let the kingdom, his kingdom, deteriorate into such a state.

Archie had never been the quickest to comprehend the situations and problems laid before him, but the pieces of a years long puzzle started to slide into place, "That is why you and the Blossoms want to raise the taxes." Fred started to nod, still keeping his eyes trained on the floor.

One of the fundamental agreements of the Allied Kingdoms was that government fees and financial considerations placed on their citizens would be close to similar, as not to encourage an overabundance of refugees and expatriots between the three kingdoms. As such all major changes to taxes and fees levied on citizens had to be approved by all three kingdoms unanimously. For the last five years the Forest and River Kingdoms attempted to increase the income coming into the royal government, and every year the Serpents refused and blocked the change. It had been a contentious and confusing development. The Serpents were the historically the poorest of the Allied, and only in the past three generations had started providing their citizens with even the most basic of education and public services.

Archie understood all of this, and the duty engrained in the very fiber of his being told him to take this task being given to him, and to serve his kingdom honorably, but his love for Betty was too strong, too undeniable. "Father, I will do everything in my power to return this Kingdom to prosperity, but…" Archie paused and touched his father's arm to draw his face to his own. He needed his father to hear him in this, "How can I be a good husband to this Miss Lodge when my heart is fully owned by another."

His father's face morphed into a look resembling pity mixed with exhaustion. "I assume you speak of the young Lady Elizabeth."

"Papa...I love her, I have been in love with her since I first knew what love was. I cannot think of anyone else being my spouse, nor, frankly do I even want to entertain such a possibility," he said it resolutely and and with conviction. Betty was the only future he wanted, the only future he envisioned, and that was a sentiment his father needed to understand.

For the second time in the span of several minutes, Fred adopted a look of bitterness rarely seen on his features, "Archie, did you know that the Cooper duchy is the richest in the River Kingdom? Hell that it's the richest estate in any of three kingdoms, including the royals? That estate offers no more than they are asked, thought they are filled with profit. They take advantage of the privilege of their land and our restrictions."

Instead of seeing the cristicim or insult in his father's statement, he instead clinged to a shadow of hope revealed by his father's grievances. "Then father, why then is marrying Betty not the best solution? Her family is wealthy, abundantly so. It solves all of our kingdom's worry."

It was as if Fred knew where this was going, and he had trapped Archie into this proposition so that he could lay out the simple truth for his son.

"Yes Archie, Lady Elizabeth Cooper would provide the best dowry of any family in the Northern, Southern, Eastern or Allied Kingdoms, and still," he could not help but pause for dramatic effect, "Her potential dowry would barely cover a third of what Hiram Lodge is offering. Think hard on what exactly that could mean for our kingdom." Fred moved towards the door and left Archie with one final statement, "I will hear nothing more of this matter."

Archie stayed in the anteroom for what felt like hours but was more logically several minutes. He was going to marry Veronica Lodge. That statement was as irrefutable and concrete as the sun in the sky and the red of his hair. But he was not ready to let go of Betty, nor did he think he would ever be able to let go of her. Possessed with a desire to see her, he ran to a window several halls away that he knew faced the gardens. She indeed was taking her walk, albiet much later than she normally did, in the palace's rather impressive gardens. As she bent her head towards the freshly bloomed white roses an unfortunate but hopeful idea manifested itself in Archie's mind.

There was a way that he could provide for his kingdom and be with the woman he loved, all he had to do was think of way to convince her to agree. It would be difficult, he knew, but his resolve was absolute.

Betty Cooper was not someone to live without.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Aww...poor sweet foolish Archie.**

 **Again just thank you for even reading this. I hope you stick around. The entire story is plotted by chapter...so all I need are some friendly reminders :). Feel free to bug me about that here or on tumblr kelseyjo**


	3. The Proposition

Betty was seven years old when her family traveled to a village on the northern border of the River Kingdom. Her father was there to barter with an Earl, and while her father was off increasing their wealth, her mother took Betty and Polly to Sweetwater Falls. Sweetwater River ran through all three kingdoms and boasted many falls along it's run, but the the northernmost waterfalls were some of the more beautiful, and safest for swimming. Betty remembered the rope swing that some local had attached to tree located at the top of the falls. The bed beneath the falls was deep and blue, providing a safe landing space for any potential venturers. Although afraid to attempt the feat herself, Polly had teased Betty into mounting the swing and plummeting into the depths below.

Terror had seized her bones until the very second that she took flight, but the feeling of free falling into the river below would be a feeling Betty would chase forever. Her body felt weightless, and yet deep in her gut something heavy was pulling her down, somersaulting her soul to oblivion.

Betty had yet to feel as free as she did in that moment. Until today. Archibald Andrews was set to wed someone who was not Betty Cooper and her entire body was electrified with freedom. She was laying in bed, when the high pure tones of the morning bells rang eight chimes. Still early then, many of the nobility did not rise until nine or even ten bells. As she stretched her body across the bed, Betty thought about staying lazily staying put and dozing off for another hour, but even as she had the thought her muscles ached to get up and move.

Not wanting to be fully prepared for the day, Betty took her dressing gown and wrapped it around her shift. The gown was one of Betty's favorites, so light a pink it was almost cream with deep red roses embroidered along the hems. Her mother found it to be a peasant's garment, but as no one should be glimpsing Betty in such a state, she allowed. As a noblewoman, Betty was expected to dress with poise and femininity in any occasion where she could be glimpsed in the public eye. Betty had once remembered traveling to a nearby Count's to help with their harvest after an accident injured half of their staff. Though she was to help with physical labour she still had to wear her simplest dress, rather than her more reasonable work trousers. A rather illogical piece of decorum.

Betty moved into the chamber's sitting room where she noticed a kitchen aide had already made the rounds, spying some fruit and cheese laid out by her water basin. Helping herself to a cluster of grapes, Betty pondered between sitting down with a book or taking out her lockbox for her daily perusal.

While normally her first instinct would to be to head straight for the lockbox, her brief and aggravating conversation with the young Prince Jones gave her pause (she could not call him Prince Jughead even in her thoughts it was too ridiculous). He had been suspicious of her, and she realized he had every right to be. While the Serpents were here for protective duty, it was an unspoken truth that the Prince would investigate to expedite the Serpent's presence in the kingdom. She was the only individual in the castle who had been present for the crime, and it was only logical that he question her.

It did not stop Betty from being irritated with his bluntness and arrogance. Perhaps that was the reason he was so monosyllabic when communicating with her in their few previous meetings. But as Betty sat in the same window where she saw him and his small troop arrive yesterday, she tried not to think about how his face was indeed as beautiful as his body or how he managed to keep his hair so perfectly soft-looking.

When she had come face to face with the Serpent Prince she was struck with his easy poise and demeanor. It was very quickly disrupted by his utter lack of an ability to communicate, which caused Betty to scold herself on her focus of looks over substance. Over the evening meal she had spied him more than once looking over in her direction, not to mention the several glances he had stolen during the assembly. She did not understand the drive to get to interact with him further, and she did not wish to dwell on this desire any longer.

Fate intervened with a knock on her door. It was rather early for the maids to be arriving, but with so much excitement from the previous day, she shouldn't be too surprised that they had started their rounds so promptly. She thought briefly of changing into her day gown, but she was well enough acquainted with all the young ladies that came into her room to feel comfortable staying put. The door opened without her calling out for entry, also not uncommon, maids were to complete their duties whether an occupant was present or not.

What was uncommon was the the person who entered her room at that moment. It was Prince Archibald Andrews, dressed, but haphazardly so, in a loose tunic and riding trousers, meaning he had come straight from his morning exercises. He looked incredibly nervous, a look that no doubt was made worse by the look of sheer shock on Betty's face.

"Prince Archibald, what are you- is something the matter?" she did not curtsy, but really this visit was already far outside the realms of propriety.

That seemed to make him chuckle at some private joke. He composed himself and took a deep breath, looking less nervous and more focused now, which planted a pit of unease in Betty's own stomach.

"First, Lady Elizabeth I want to apologize for the manner in which you had to hear about my engagement yesterday, you have to know that if I were apprised of the declaration before, I would have consulted with you in private," Archie had his hands open wide as he gestured, as if his entire body was apologizing.

Betty knew she had to tread carefully, she in no way wanted to encourage whatever fantasies Archibald had and possibility still harboured for her, but there was no getting around the very real truth that Archibald was her future king. She had seen him destroy other lives, there is no reason for her to believe that if she fully crossed him that he would not do the same to her.

"There is no need for that Your Highness, I apologize for not staying back to congratulate you in person, but I look forward to meeting your bride in the morrow," Betty wrapped her robe tighter to her body and took a few strategic but subtle steps towards the water basin. Putting furniture between herself and Archibald seemed like the best course of action.

Nodding to himself Archibald looked directly at Betty, in consequence making her breaths shorter. "Betty you need to know that this is not what I wanted, I had every intention of asking you to be my wife," Betty drew in a sharp intake of breath, and immediately forced herself into a facade of calm, this was not the introduction to a speech where he asked her to run away with him. He was resigned.

"My father made it clear to me that marrying this Miss Lodge is what is best for the kingdom, and I agree. Our kingdom needs a fresh income of wealth to reinvigorate our public," he paused to take a breath, "but I am not willing to lose you, and the life we could have had. Betty I am asking you, begging you if I must, to be Lady Convoy to the King."

Betty stared at him, convinced that she had heard him incorrectly. Convoys were the term adopted by the world to make the position seem more entitled than it actually was. In reality all the world knew that convoy was a more formal word for escort.

"You are asking me to be...your mistress?" Betty was suddenly very aware that she and Archie were alone in her chambers, and she was in nothing but a shift and dressing gown. She needed to end this conversation, and if the words she used caused her to be banished forever...all for the better. Anything to be free of this entitled lecherous boy.

"I know it's not ideal, but any children you bear would still be legitimate, and in line for the the throne after my trueborn heirs…"

"That is enough Archibald. I decline your offer, and I must ask you to leave my chambers at once." Betty marched past Archibald and held the door open for him, hoping to end this ludicrous conversation.

"Betty, please think about it, we have gone through too much to abandon a future together. You are the only woman I have ever loved…"

His use of that word was too much for Betty to stand, "Love?! Do you know what love is Archibald? Because I do. Or should I say did. I had it, I had _him_ , and you banished him from the kingdom, robbed him of his title and his future! Or have you so easily forgotten" The time for niceties had long passed, and Betty's tone could no longer remain cordial.

"I know you think you loved that Clayton boy…" Archie was starting to get defensive now, his open posture changing so that his hands were in front of him.

"I loved Charles Clayton with my whole heart. We were engaged to be wed and you disrupted that happiness with false allegations. Now you would also wish to ruin my reputation by asking me to be your mistress, of all things. I decline, and my mind cannot be changed on this. I will however do you the courtesy of not mentioning this to your future wife or your father. Now please leave," she held the door open wider, the wood almost groaning beneath her grip and cast her eyes away from him in hopes of encouraging a quick exit.

"Please, Betty…"

"You may call me Lady Elizabeth," her voice was cold as she snapped her gaze to him. Archibald almost seemed surprised, but she could tell by the defeated look on his face that he believed her. Finally.

He swept out the door and Betty felt as if she could not close the door fast enough on his retreating figure.

Betty's entire body was shaking with a mixture of rage, sadness and shock. Part of her was willing her body to believe she was still sleeping, that the future king of the River Kingdom had not just meandered to her room and propositioned her.

Convoys were common, especially in kingdoms and states where marriage only represented a political act, but never had a royal offered that particular title to a member of the nobility. Even same sex royal couples could make Royal Decrees of Lineage to assign new and appropriate heirs rather than take on a Convoy. Meaning Archibald must be desperate to keep her in his life, it almost made her pity him.

No, she could not sit in her quarters and fester on this turn events any longer, or allow herself to empathize with her attacker. She prepared a small satchel with the food that was brought in the morning and her book and quickly changed for the day. She needed to be surrounded by beauty and serenity, and she could think of no better place than the castle gardens.

She could tell that the castle was just waking up as she made her way to the courtyard leading to the gardens. As she was met with outdoors she was glad for wearing one of her heavier gowns, the morning biting at her bare skin. It still felt like summer during the day, but the mornings could not deny that autumn was coming. She walked the half kilometer to the large elm tree, which quickly became her favorite for its remoteness and shade. She pulled a few blankets from the chest that was kept nearby and refreshed with blankets and food staples daily. She laid one at the base of the tree, and placed another over her lap as she tried to refocus on her book.

As she re-read the same sentence two dozen times she allowed her nerves to ebb into some semblance of normal. At the very least, since this surprise occurred during the early hours of the morning, the rest of her day should at least be calm in comparison.

* * *

The sun was still low in the sky when Jughead awoke thinking of Jason Blossom's killer. An unsurprising development given that the crime was his sole purpose for awaking in the lush guest bedroom of the River Kingdom castle. He had spent most the previous evening scrounging over the records that the constable had copied for him. As he had suspected the records were meticulously kept, but offered no real investigation, no exploration of the possibilities.

Jughead started with the most basic question, one the constable did not seem to concerned with answering. Why would someone want to kill Jason Blossom? Even though the constable did not share this theory, he was also starting to consider that Polly Cooper had also been a target. The killer, or the person who hired the killers wished to rid the world of the young lovers. Why?

His list of suspects was small, and he could not be sure that the guilty party was present on the list, but he needed to start somewhere. First up was Cheryl Blossom, and even he had to acknowledge that he he placement on the list was out of his own bitterness. If she were capable of love, as Toni keeps telling him she is, then she had it for her brother Jason and no one else. So even with a motive as strong as the throne to the Forest Kingdom, Jughead found it difficult to fathom Cheryl killing the only person who had ever loved her.

Next on his shortlist was a fallen Westerner. The Forest Kingdom was the closest kingdom, Allied or Northern to the western shores. About a dozen or so families had been pushed out of power, but not out of money during the riots, and they would be on the run. They were desperate, and killing a royal family to usurp a kingdom was not unheard of, especially given the circumstances. Jughead had to admit however that the scale of the attack, did not meet the standards for a coup. Any decent conspirator would have gone after the entire royal family if a takeover was desired, not just the heir.

His last desperate suspect was one of the Coopers, for access alone. While it did seem odd for them to mangle their own manor, they made for the most believable motive. If Polly was planning to run away from her inheritance, they may have acted suddenly and irrationally out of spite, particularly given the fight that Lady Elizabeth had overheard.

Lady Elizabeth. The leads were minimal, and really Jughead could only think of one person he wanted to question, but he had done a remarkable job the day prior of burning that bridge. The manor was under lockdown, and he had to rely on the statements given to the Constable for eyewitness accounts. Elizabeth was hiding something, of that he was certain, but how nefarious a secret had yet to be determined. She was beautiful and charming and as such, no one would suspect her of anything less than perfection. Charm and perfection were never to be trusted, life had already cruelly taught him that lesson.

Regardless, he could tell he was able to shake her resolve, even in the slightest, and he was sure he could break through to some truth. Jughead could see her window from his own. He chose to believe he would only use the vantage point for strategic and investigative reasons, but at the moment the view was moot. She was probably still sleeping, it was nearly nine bells, and he was finding that most nobility kept a leisurely morning schedule.

That was a luxury never afforded to him in the Serpent Kingdom, and he had no intention of adopting the habit now. He dressed in comfortable sparring gear, and headed to the armory on the west side of the castle where Archie went for his exercises. He was doubtful that he was going to see his red-headed friend, Archie being the epitome of a lazy morning sleeper, but he could practice on one of the dummies until he rolled out of bed.

As he entered the armory, he was surprised to find a dummy already brutalized and some large sacks of flour used for building strength strewn across the floor. Odd, since no courtiers stayed for dinner the day prior, meaning that no one but the future prince himself had come to the armory this morning. Slightly miffed his friend did not wake him for a sparring match, Jughead headed back towards the castle to find him and make him pay for the infraction. His route edged along the gardens, and he did a double take, thinking he saw a flash of a familiar blonde braid.

Finding a break in the hedgerow, he sidled through and squinted towards a large elm tree, standing solitary in the middle of a carefully kept field. Underneath the shade, sat Lady Elizabeth Cooper, bundled in a blanket, reading a book. She almost seemed to be an extension of the tree, rooted underneath barely moving. For a moment he thought of leaving her to her serenity, but the temptation of seeing her here, unprepared and unguarded was too tempting to ignore.

He traversed the grounds, staying away from the path and hidden by the trees and hedges that ran alongside it. He felt slightly criminal, and definitely like a cretin, but he could not risk scaring her away. When he reached a distance where it would be impossible for her to exit without it being suspicious, he leisurely walked towards the elm. She must have been incredibly engrossed in her book because she jumped when he greeted her, "Good Morning, Lady Elizabeth."

She looked up at him, and acknowledging her visitor, closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if she were preparing for battle. "Good Morning to you, your highness, I must say I didn't expect to run into anyone so early in the morning," she flicked her eyes towards her book and back at him with a look of practiced patience. Like she was looking at a petulant child.

"So formal, please like I said yesterday Jughead is preferred," he flashed her what he thought was a charming smile, but she remained unfazed. Jughead's confidence in breaking through towards Elizabeth's secrets started to fade. She was in no mood for interrogation, so a change in tactics was required.

"I was hoping to have a word with you, one slightly more cordial than our greeting yesterday," another charming smile, another look of sheer apathy. This woman was going to damage his ego. "My knights and I are here to protect the kingdom while there is still a killer at large. If we were to find said murderer, you could return to the peace of your book and never be bothered by the Serpent Prince again," he said it lightly, but the implication was there. Help him, and his presence, which appeared to annoy her greatly would cease.

She smiled slightly, "Prince Jones you seem to be under the impression that I am harbouring some secrets. I am not," she paused and measured the look in his eyes before continuing, "I do however, think that the Constable is...overlooking key facts and witness accounts. I would be happy to let you see my notes and give you written consent to visit the manor."

She was so measured and rehearsed with him, yet he knew she was being genuine. She had been attempting to solve the case on her own, that was the secret she guarded yesterday, which did not surprise him. Someone was killed in her home, her sister injured, and he had seen himself that the Constable's investigation left much to be desired. The mystery of Elizabeth Cooper should hold no more allure to him...and yet.

What she had offered him was actionable, he could look into her notes, and go to the manor himself. He would act on both offers, but he found that he wanted not to just read carefully selected highlights from her, but to hear her insights, her thoughts.

"What makes you think the Constable is on the wrong path?" He asked, trying to sound conversational, but he could not mask the curiosity in his voice.

Elizabeth abandoned the pretense of returning to her book as she made a show of closing it and setting it back in her bag. She removed the blanket from her lap and stood, starting to fold both the blanket that was covering her and the blanket she was sitting upon as she stared straight into Jughead's eyes, "I think he asks time-wasting questions." She took both blankets and walked over to a chest nearby, placing both carefully inside. She brushed past him on her way back to her bag, and Jughead could swear she smelled like fresh strawberries.

"It must be difficult for him to get the answers he needs, when his resources continue to give vague responses," Jughead narrowed his eyes at her, very aware of the double meaning behind her response. It frustrated him that she was being so difficult, granted they had gotten off to a shaky start the day prior, but he was being nothing but courteous now. He was a prince, he did not have to stand for sarcasm and glib from the second daughter of a Duke.

"Lady Elizabeth, one would think you would take any offer of help, seeing that it was your own sister who was attacked, do you not want to find the person responsible? For all you know the culprit may try for another attempt," his words were meant to inspire compliance, not stoke the anger that seemed to be bubbling on the surface.

"Of course I would do anything to find them, and it is cruel of you to imply otherwise. I have given you permission to visit the manor, I have offered to show you what little insight I have into the crime. What is it, exactly, that you think I am keeping from you?!" She has stepped forward so that she was less than a foot away from him. She looked so tired in that moment, so exasperated with the circumstances of her life, that Jughead wanted to leave her be, go to the manor and conduct his own investigation independent of her. But she had asked him pointe blank what he thought she was keeping from him, and if there was even one breath of a chance she would tell him, he would take it.

"Was your sister sleeping with Jason Blossom?" He asked that question first, as he both wanted the answer, and to catch her off guard. He anticipated either a look of shock confirming his theory, or a firm and righteous denial. Instead, it seemed, Elizabeth Cooper was simply unamused, "I am sure I have no idea. She never told me one way or the other, and thankfully I have never interrupted the act to confirm."

It was rather shocking language, especially directed at someone who outranks her. Jughead felt old resentment bubble to the surface. Forest and River Kingdom citizens always looked down on the Serpent Kingdom, even as a prince he was lower than the servant who cleaned his chamber pot in the River Kingdom.

It infuriated him.

"Well then did she jilt Jason? Perhaps is was a mutual attack of passion, you must understand the feeling if your interactions with Archie are any indication," it fell out of his mouth before he could stop and just continued to get worse as he added, "Although the Cooper ladies are known more for their tease than their promise." It was a hateful speech fueled by his deep insecurities, and he regretted it as soon as it passed his lips, but Elizabeth did not give him any chance to apologize. She stepped forward so she was impossibly close to him. She was a full head shorter than him, but her anger was towering.

"You self entitled princes, think you can demand and accuse as you wish," she said this under her breath as a precursor to the speech she delivered to Jughead's face. "Tell me Prince Jones, when is the last time you have seen your mother, is it true she ran off with a lover to an Island Kingdom? Is she the reason you have not been able to settle on a suitable bride? And since we are questioning motives, why have you relegated yourself to hired thug, rather than behave as an actual prince?" Elizabeth asked these terrible questions without malice, as if they were just known facts.

Jughead's mouth fell into an "O" of shock, as he stared at Elizabeth's unreadable face. He was about to launch vitriol back towards her general direction when she stopped him. She had both her hands held towards him palms up so that they were almost touching his chest, but it was her expression that stole his voice. She looked apologetic and empathetic, and for a moment Jughead thought she might reach up a hand to touch his face.

"No. No, of course you do not have to answer any of those rude and invasive questions. They are unnecessary and I have no right to intrude on those answers. If you wanted me to know, it should be your choice to tell me." She was looking at him expectantly but Jughead was stunned and immobile so the only words that could fall out of his mouth were, "Thank you."

As soon as those words were spoken all gentleness fell away from her beautiful face as she turned to stone, she stepped back from him, immediately feeling the vacancy of her presence, as she picked up her things, never breaking eye contact with Jughead.

"Now, would not the world be better if all people believed the same. Letting others reveal their truths through trust, not intimidation." Betraying no emotion in her face she turned to leave and Jughead could say nothing.

She stopped and Jughead felt his heartbeat falter for a moment. She turned and fixed him with a warning look before she spoke, "I am a woman of my word your highness, I will have a copy of my suspicions sent to you, and I will send word to the guards immediately at the manor, that Prince Jones should be able to question whomever he wishes. It will be done by bell change." With that Elizabeth turned and walked back towards the castle, not once sparing him a glance.

* * *

Lady Elizabeth kept all of her promises in a timely manner. After he ate at noon, he rode the short distance to the Cooper duchy where he was being expected by the guards. The Duke was not present, but he was able to question all workers who had recollection of the events. It did not provide much insight, but it did increase his trust in the given statements. All of the people who worked at the duchy were kind, loyal and true.

Every single member of the staff he spoke to asked after Lady Elizabeth, or Betty, as they called her. She was universally beloved, and Jughead had never felt like more of a entitled ass. That feeling only intensified as he made his way back to the castle to find an envelope from Elizabeth waiting for him. She had carefully copied her suspicions and provided ample evidence to support her claims. It was clear that she was deeply intelligent, and though that had always been a quality Jug had prided himself on, he could feel nothing but foolish.

(He also spent time admiring Lady Elizabeth's handwriting, it was light, graceful and unrushed, all the more surprising given their interaction that morning)

He went down to the evening meal determined to apologize to Elizabeth, only to discover that she was claiming illness, and had opted to take her meal in her chambers. The resident members of the nobility ate separately from the rest of the castle, so this evening Jughead was alone with the Andrews men, both of whom seemed to be harbouring demons of their own.

King Andrews seemed to determined to only have a conversation with his meal, not meeting the eyes of either his son nor his guest. Archie, for his part did not seem to want to speak to his father any more than his father wanted to speak to him. Whatever battle they waged was over since yesterday, and now they were just wading through the wreckage.

Archie kept glancing over at Jughead, as if wanting him to engage in conversation without having to make the first move. Jughead had only just returned from the Cooper manor, and so he had not spoken to Archie since dinner the previous day. He looked...torn, and Jughead needed to ignore his own demons to be there for his friend.

"Arch I went to the armory this morning hoping to spar, looks like you beat me to it, when did you become an early riser?" Jughead chuckled, but Archie winced before looking at his father. "I had some frustrations to work out this morning, and some decisions to make."

"That sounds serious Arch, not planning to wage any wars soon are you?" Jughead teased, determined to bring his friend out from whatever torture he was putting himself through. Archie managed a ghost of a smile, but did not delve further into whatever decisions he was wrestling with.

The return of conversation to the table seemed to disinterest King Andrews who bid goodnight to both of them, as he announced his intention to retire for the evening. As soon as he left, Jughead turned to Archie with unmasked sincerity.

"Come on Arch, what's going on?"

Archie stared at his plate for several more seconds before letting out a sigh, "I did something really stupid Jug."

"Must be something in the water…"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing, what happened?" Jughead could use the distraction from his own blunders of the day.

"I just- I insulted Lady Elizabeth this morning. I was so sure...never mind it's not important what I thought. I made assumptions and offended her, and I do not know how to fix it." He looked at Jug with such hope in his eyes. Jughead always used to tell him what to do when he broke something or said something without thinking.

This time Jughead could not help him, because he could not help himself. Then a thought occurred to Jughead, "Did you have this fight early in the morning?"

"Yes, why is that important?" Archibald furrowed his face in confusion, trying to follow Jughead's line of thought.

Jughead saw everything clearly, Betty had had an altercation with Archie and he had made it significantly worse by accosting her probably less than an hour later. He was not sure he could overcome this remarkably horrible impression he had built but he would try to find a way. He had to.

He gave Archie some half hearted advice about sending Elizabeth a note the next day when he too retired to his room for the night.

Jughead went to bed early that evening where he tossed and turned until the bells stopped chiming, well into the early hours of the morning. He could not stop thinking about Lady Elizabeth, her self assurance and wit as they argued. Her conversation with him was not measured, and he should be praising her candor, rather than believe it was a sign of disrespect.

He sat up, giving up on sleep and lit a candle so that he could read himself exhausted.

Even as Jughead let the familiar words lull him into a slumber, he could not stop his subconscious from placing Elizabeth's face on the characters in his story, nor could he shake his inexplicable but unstoppable craving for strawberries.


	4. A Note from the Author

Hello Everyone!

Because its not super sustainable for me to keep posting this fic in two places I have decided to discontinue For the Crown here, and continue it only on Archive of Our Own (for reasons).

To be clear I WILL STILL BE UPDATING REGULARLY. Just over there...not here. I am very sorry for the inconvenience and hope you come hang out with me on Ao3!

As a further enticement: I just need to proofread the next chapter so it should be up tonight or tomorrow morning before I go to work.

Please come read it and subscribe!


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